unaligned

Qatar has criticised an offer by Saudi Arabia to convey Qataris to the haj pilgrimage on the kingdom's national carrier, Saudi Arabia Airlines, rather than allowing Qatar's airline or others to fly them to the Islamic rite in Mecca. Saudi Arabia and three other Arab states severed transport and trade ties with Qatar in June, citing its alleged support for terrorism and Iran - charges Doha denies. Riyadh said last week it would aid the travel of Qataris to haj in a move initially welcomed by Doha, but Saudi Arabia complained on Sunday that its planes had yet to receive landing permits for the rite beginning at the end of August. "It is usual and customary for pilgrims to be transported from any country by means of national air, land and sea transportation in that country," said Ahmed al-Rumaihi, information director at Qatar's Foreign Affairs Ministry. "Saudi Arabia should lift the embargo on the State of Qatar without restriction and enable ... Qatar to oversee its haj contingent and the transportation of Qatari pilgrims via their choice of airlines, Qatar Airways or otherwise," he added. The four blockading countries have closed their airspace to Qatar's carrier and all but Egypt expelled most Qatari citizens.<br/>

While millions of people got ready to watch today’s total solar eclipse from the ground, Alaska Airlines hosted an eclipse-viewing party in the air. Alaska’s charter Flight #9671 left Oregon’s Portland International Airport before 7:30 a.m. PT and headed west for two hours out over the Pacific Ocean. On board, astronomy enthusiasts, eclipse-chasers, a NASA astronaut, social media contest winners and other guests flying in the Boeing 737-900 were treated to a unique and early view of the total eclipse from 40,000 feet. Before entering the path of totality, Alaska Airlines pilots and invited on-board experts, including Evgenya Shkolnik, an astrophysics professor at the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University, meteorologist Joe Rao, and NASA Astronaut Michael Barratt explained to passengers the technical details involved with both the eclipse and the flight. They offered tips on what to look for as the plane entered the path of totality and gave passengers a count-down into and out of the path of totality. Witnessing the total eclipse from the plane was both “haunting and humbling” said Tanya Harrison, an astronomer-turned-planetary scientist at Arizona State University. “It shows you how much we depend on the sun and how easily something like a volcanic eruption or a nuclear winter could get in the way.” Over the past few months, astronomers worked closely with Alaska Airlines pilots to chart the best flight path to catch the eclipse and found that, for a variety of reason, heading out over the ocean would provide the ideal views.<br/>

Shanghai-based LCC Spring Airlines reported a net profit of CNY554m ($81.7m) in the 2017 H1, down 25.2% over net profit of CNY740.1m in the year-ago half because of a sharp increase of operating costs. Operating expenses jumped 41% to CNY5b while operating revenue was up 28.1% to CNY5.1b. Ancillary revenue grew 23.6% to CNY409m. Passenger boardings increased 26.8% to 8.32m with an average load factor of 91.8%, down 1.15 points over year-ago period. Passenger capacity rose 30.7% to 16.1b ASKs against a 29.1% increase in passenger revenue to 14.8b RPKs. Cargo traffic volume was up 20.1% to 23,372 tonnes. In the first half, Spring increased domestic capacity but cut international capacity, especially on routes to Japan, Korea and Thailand because of increasingly fierce competition. The ratio of international routes decreased to 30.7% from 34.6% in terms of ASKs while domestic routes were up 65.9% from 61.9%; the number of regional routes (Hong Kong, Macau and Thailand) decreased 3.4% from 3.5%. <br/>

Nepal carrier Shree Airlines has launched commercial passenger jet service following its acquisition of three Bombardier CRJ Series aircraft. Bombardier said the airline commenced fixed-wing service with the first of two CRJ200s Aug. 11. Shree also acquired a CRJ700; all three aircraft were purchased from an unidentified third party. Shree plans to equip its CRJ700 with a six-seat business-class section. Until now, Shree Airlines has primarily been a charter helicopter service, based in Kathmandu and incorporated in 1999. With the introduction of the CRJs, the airline is expanding into commercial passenger service, operating between Nepal’s capital city and regional destinations Bhadrapur, Bhairawaha, Dhangadi, Biratnagar and Nepalgunj. “We are continuously looking for optimal solutions to address the increasing transportation demands in Nepal, and the launch of our new regional jet service with the CRJ200 and CRJ700 aircraft represents a significant milestone in our growth journey,” Shree Airlines corporate manager Anil Manandhar said. “The CRJ Series aircraft will allow us to improve domestic transportation, and will be a key asset in helping Shree Airlines expands its operations to the regional markets in the future.”<br/>

Spirit Airlines could receive more than $1.35m in state and local incentives to create 225 new jobs at an expanded Miramar headquarters. The airline is looking to expand its headquarters and is considering other states including Texas, according to the city. Miramar’s commission is scheduled to consider the city’s portion of the incentive at its meeting on Tuesday. The new jobs would pay an average annual salary of $71,789 and the company would invest about $10m in 70,000-square feet of office building space in Miramar, according to a memo in support of approving Miramar’s 10 percent share of the incentives package by Eric Silva, the city’s economic development manager. “They’ve been a good tenant in Miramar,” Silva said of Spirit. Spirit also could qualify for up to $112,500, or $500 per new job, in local incentives for hiring Miramar residents, Silva said. <br/>